Basics of Behavior Psychology
By Wily Elder, CBA, CMI
Unlike other fields of psychology, behavior psychology is not mysterious. Unlike Freudian psychology, it deals with what is observed. It does not deal with what might be in someone's head.
Never change a winning game.
Always change a losing game.
Never reward bad behavior. Congress and the President do that. We should never follow their bad example.
Rewarding bad behavior is what has caused the Yankee Dollar to fall in value. As it continues, the Yankee Dollar will become very much like the Zimbabwe Dollar.
Always try to find out the function of the behavior but don't make the task into a fetish.
Give people positive rewards when they are practicing good behavior.
Punish people for bad behavior.
How?
One easy way is to remove the positive rewards.
Here are some examples:
Invite people to parties who practice good behavior. Make them comfortable. When a person gets drunk and does something foolish, escort him out the door and let him know he will not be invited to future parties.
If your child is on his good behavior, give him praise and special treats. When he misbehaves, remove the treats and cut off communication with him for 40 minutes.
When your bankers are behaving well, and giving you a free account, continue banking with them. When they decide to start charging a monthly fee, close your account. Give your business to people who are less greedy.
If a waitress serves you well, give her a tip. If she does not, avoid the tip.
When an insurance rate comparison company is giving you information on the phone, be polite. If they insist on getting your credit card number, hang up on them.
When politicians are behaving well and spending money appropriately and not not taking bribes, vote for them.
When politicians tries to cram something down your throat whether you like it or not, boot them out of office.
When politicians accept bribes or gives bribes, call up you attorney general and demand they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
If the attorney general is also dirty, give him (or her) free publicity by reporting it to the media.
If the media refuses to cooperate, go to the Internet and let your friends know which media outlets are dirty.
There are lots of things we can do in our daily lives to practice behavior psychology and thereby create a better environment in which to function.
-Wily Elder, CBA, CMI
